Kin710 Post on Readings

Based on readings:
Bolan, K., Canada, M., & Cullin, R. (2007). Web, Library, and Teen Services 2.0. Young Adult Library Services, 5(2), 40-43.

Ferdig, R. E. (2007). Editorial: Examining Social Software in Teacher Education. Journal of Technology & Teacher Education, pp. 5-10.

Weaver, A.C., Morrison, B. B., Social Networking.Computer (February, 2008)

One of the key themes in social networking is that the individuals involved are choosing to be part of the on-line community. Things go wrong when purposes crossconnect. Such as the teacher checking into his student's facebook. The challenge is to understand appropriate use and set safeguards.

An online learning community works best when all have a common purpose and common connection. This community then becomes the "scaffold" for learning. A good teacher in a physcial classroom allows open respectful dialogue. It seems to be no different in a learning online community. As in the case with librarians having to let go of some control as they move into a Web 2.0 environment, so also teachers need to release some control as the networking community functions.

Facebook is trying to be a platform for 3rd parties to "seemlessly embed" into a site. Google is trying to set up a common language so all these social networks can work more united. Maybe if I take this Kin710 class in a few years from now, I would just pop on my facebook account and I would be able to "go to school" and also socialize, and share photos, all at one site. What a nice thought!

These articles emphasize to me how much technology has changed over such a short period of time and how quickly it is driving how we communicate and learn. As far as generational differences go, it is astounding how many of the technologies mentioned in the articles are routinely used by teens. There really is a generational divide at this point! We get a wake-up call when an event like the VA Tech shootings show that students have a system of communicating that is in place and beyond the establishmented systems.